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Manu Tuilagi insists England will continue to laugh in the face of adversity after reacting to their latest disciplinary crisis by delivering one of the nation\u2019s great acts of defiance on a rugby field.<\/p>\n
Argentina were routed 27-10 in a pivotal World Cup opener despite England playing all but three minutes of the Stade Velodrome clash with 14 men because of Tom Curry\u2019s red card for a dangerous tackle.<\/p>\n
Curry\u2019s disciplinary hearing takes place on Tuesday night when he will learn how much of the group campaign he is to miss, with fixtures against Japan, Chile and Samoa to come.<\/p>\n
England have now had four players sent off in six Tests \u2013 each of them for dangerous tackles \u2013 and an indicator of their regularity was seen in Tuilagi\u2019s response when his Sale team-mate was given his marching orders.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest I was sort of smiling and laughing because we\u2019ve had a tough preparation,\u201d said centre Tuilagi, who packed down in the scrum in Curry\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of challenges that life has thrown towards us. But just because we\u2019ve had a lot of challenges it doesn\u2019t mean they are going to stop. That\u2019s life and you\u2019ve just got to find a way to deal with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow\u2019s going to be different \u2013 a new day, a new challenge. So we\u2019ve talked about the belief and the trust that you\u2019ve got to have in each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur preparation wasn\u2019t the best, but we worked so hard to get here so it\u2019s time to just go out there and enjoy our rugby, not think about the past and the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the heart of a victory that places England in control of Pool D was George Ford, the fly-half who wielded the knife as the abject Pumas were subjected to death by a thousand cuts.<\/p>\n
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Ford landed three drop-goals and six penalties, as well as delivering a tactical masterclass, while around him the likes of Courtney Lawes, Ben Earl and Maro Itoje outfought Argentina even while Curry watched from the stands.<\/p>\n
Tuilagi marvels at \u201cour kid\u201d Ford, another Sale colleague who is helping put Manchester back on the rugby map.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeorge is unbelievable. He\u2019s a player who has been there and done it all. We look to him in tough times and he stepped up against Argentina,\u201d Tuilagi said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe deserves everything he\u2019s got because he\u2019s worked so hard to get back and play well.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a mastermind. He lives and breathes rugby. And he loves it. Having the love of what you do means you enjoy it. It wasn\u2019t perfect but that\u2019s life, it can never be perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
England are mindful of remaining clear-eyed about a stirring win founded on resilience and smart rugby, but also notable for the impotency of the attack.<\/p>\n
The humidity made the ball slippery but that failed to account for the failure to convert a five-on-two overlap in the second half.<\/p>\n
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For now, however, England will celebrate an important win secured despite an abysmal warm-up campaign and which builds momentum ahead of Sunday\u2019s clash with Japan in Lille.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis definitely makes working on things a bit better. When we go back to the drawing board on Monday, it\u2019s better to learn on a win than from losing,\u201d Tuilagi said.<\/p>\n